I am happy to report that one of my favorite times of year for fishing has arrived. The Cobia are showing up along the buoys in the lower Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean off of Virginia Beach. Cobia are one of the kings of inshore game fish and part of the three fish that are known as the Inshore Grand Slam: Red Drum, Black Drum and Cobia. They begin to migrate into Virginia waters in late May and early June but almost exclusively seek out shallow flats and bars where they are targeted by fishermen who anchor up and chum or chunk them in to their baits. While this is often a very productive tactic it can be equally boring when the fish decide to go without a meal. As the summer progresses and the Cobia finish spawning they tend to “wander” more and can often be seen swimming on the surface almost anywhere. During early August and on into October the cobia seem to gravitate toward bridges, pilings, wrecks and especially buoys. This is an exciting time to fish because the preferred method involves “hopping” from one buoy to another while looking for your quarry.

Such was the case this past Thursday as I ventured out in the morning in search of my second cobia of the year. I had started my morning crabbing run at 4:30 am and finished up by 9 am with about five bushels of live blue crab. I called down my usual list of fishing partners with no success. Nonetheless I fired up my twenty-six-foot Shamrock, the Calusa Gal and ventured out on my own on a beautiful wind-free day. I brought six live eels and two-dozen live baby spot for bait. The spot were for my secondary target, Flounder, and the eels were for the Cobia. The trick to rigging and handling eels is getting them to be still! I put the eels in a short bucket with no water (yes, no water) and place the bucket in a large cooler with ice in it. The bucket rests on the ice and chills the eels into a state of torpor in which condition they can be handled easily and placed on the hook. My rod of choice is a six-foot graphite composite with either a Shimano TLD 15 or Charter Special spooled with either 30 or 40 pound test Ande line. The Shimanos listed here offer the convenience of lever drag, which is handy during a prolonged fight with a fifty plus pound fish on the lighter lines. I like the thirty-pound test because it casts better. When you sight a Cobia the trick is the cast or toss the eel past him and bring it by in front of him slowly. When the eel hits the warm summer water he springs back to life almost instantly and his presentation is almost irresistible to the Cobia. I have found that a live Menhaden, Spot or Croaker will work if an eel is not available (in descending order of effectiveness). The terminal tackle consists of a six-foot leader of 80 or 100 pound test monofilament tied to a 5/0 live bait or octopus circle hook by Gamakatsu. On the end opposite the hook I tie a 100 pound strength barrel swivel, which is coupled to the snap swivel coming from the mainline from the rod. I really cannot stress the importance of swivels when dealing with big fish and I use Sampo brand black swivels exclusively.

After a forty-five minute run I reached my first site and there was not a Cobia in sight but I made a blind cast just to be sure. No luck. I went to the second, third and fourth sites with no success. Then on the fifth spot and over an hour later I spotted him; a nice thirty or forty pounder I guessed. On the first cast of the eel I over shot the path of the big fish and reeled the eel by his nose perfectly! There was no hesitation. As the Cobia swam off with the eel I counted as the line fed off the reel under my thumb. One-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand and so on to six or eight-one thousand. Then I eased the lever drag forward to "strike" and in one motion leaned forward and then set back on the hook. Hooked Up! After thirty minutes I netted a 52" Cobia weighing in at 42 pounds.

Now you all you have to do is get out there and start hunting. If the tide is slack the Cobia will be easier to see. If the tide is running hard they often sit down lower in the water and almost always behind the piling or buoy out of the current much like a freshwater trout in a stream behind a boulder. Even if you do not see him try a "blind" cast before moving on. This often produces strikes from fish that you did not see! The exact sites I fish are not important but after years you will learn to check some sites more often than others. As this website progresses the staff will be more specific about location. Right now we are trying to offer the techniques that work for us and other professionals. The same day I landed eight nice Flounder from two pounds to five pounds on the Spot I took but that is another story. Till next time good luck and remember: Everyday is a holiday and every meal is a feast!

by Captain Chris Ludford
F/V Calusa Gal and F/V Fish Magnet
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